Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Reviews: Events
Reviews: Events
Events 91
a new type of aura which would be troacoustic works (Pierre Couprie,
specific to numerical art. She sug- Université Paris 4), the creation of
gested that we are now living the sonic spaces (Anne Sédès, Université
moment when the distance between Paris 8), the notion of time in elec-
an object and the perception of that troacoustic music (José Manuel
object is being recreated. Berenguer, Orchestra del Caos, Bar-
celona), the concept of ‘‘virtual’’
4. ‘‘Academic’’ art, ‘‘popular’’ art.
(Mihu Iliescu, Paris), the role of tech-
In modern times, the traditional
nology in vocal synthesis (Anastasia
frontier between popular art and aca-
Georgaki, Ionian University), and the
demic art is fading away, probably
relationship between computer and
because the two disciplines are in-
‘‘open’’ form in music (John Dack,
creasingly making use of the same
Middlesex University).
technologies. Four presentations
The proceedings of this sympo-
were made on this theme. Makis
sium have been slated for publica-
Solomos (Université Montpellier 3)
tion by the Université de
discussed the existence of two tech-
Montpellier Press. For further infor-
nological paradigms: that of art mu-
mation, the symposium Web site
sic (electroacoustic music), which
may be consulted (http://alor
favors abstraction and listening, and
.univ-montp3.fr/XXESUPV).
that of popular music (rock), which
stresses the importance of the instru-
ment and the gesture. He observed
3. Transformation of our perception. that these two types of music tend to
The third theme of the symposium, converge owing to recent develop-
‘‘Transformation of Our Perception,’’ ments (a quest for gestuality in elec- Publications
is also very important with regard to troacoustic music, an increasing
the relationship between art and focus on listening in experimental
technology. It engages the question techno).
of change in our perception of the Amparo Lasen (London School of Daniel R. Raichel: The Science
world due to the omnipresence of Economics and Political Science) has and Applications of Acoustics
technology. However, there were also noticed a recent trend towards
only three presentations on this abstraction in techno music. Played Hardcover, 2000, ISBN 0-387-98907-
topic. Nelly Lacince (Université in raves (and on other occasions), 2, xiv Ⳮ 598 pages, references, ap-
Montpellier 3), looking at dance and this music blends with dance and pendices, index; Springer-Verlag New
technology, discussed the danger of light effects to the point where it ac- York, Inc., 175 Fifth Avenue, New
losing the sensual, carnal dimension. quires a tactile dimension. But tech- York, New York 10010, USA; elec-
Pascale Criton (Paris), looking at her nology remains just a tool. tronic mail service@springer-ny.com;
own work as a composer, disagreed: Emmanuel Grynszpan (École des World Wide Web www.springer-
in the relationship between téchnè Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, verlag.com/
and expressiveness, there is always a Paris) also discussed techno music
direct link between a sonic dynamic and the role of technology. Reviewed by Nico Schuler
and a sensory engagement, even James Harley (Minnesota State San Marcos, Texas, USA
when the sonic dynamic is infused University Moorhead), examining
with technology. the case of the ‘‘alternative’’ group Daniel R. Raichel’s textbook The
Carmen Pardo (Universitat de Bar- The Residents, questioned the evolu- Science and Applications of Acous-
celona), taking Walter Benjamin’s tion of some music infused with tics is an excellent introduction to
thesis (from his famous article ‘‘The technology: the tools can sometimes acoustics from an interdisciplinary
work of art in the era of technologi- substitute for musical originality. point of view. In addition, it may be
cal reproducibility’’) as reference, dis- The symposium also concerned it- usable—because of its fundamental
cussed the ‘‘aura’’ of the work of art. self with a number of other topics. approach—for mathematically well-
She evoked the possibility of creating These included the analysis of elec- educated readers (who should specifi-
Publications 93
9444; fax (Ⳮ1) 510-524-2221; World distracting to the reader. The authors
Wide Web www.peachpit.com/ frequently dwell on side issues used
to illustrate the main points, such as
Reviewed by Eric Strother the frequent references to the process
Lexington, Kentucky, USA of LP restoration in the hardware
section. This seems to be a result of
The Little Audio CD Book is de-
the casual nature of the writing and,
signed as an easy to understand in-
while distracting, fits the tone of the
troduction to recording compact
book. One large-scale organizational
discs at home. Bob Starrett and Josh
oddity is the separation of non-
McDaniel take a casual approach to
computer-based CD recorders from
explaining the processes, which
the other hardware chapters.
makes this a good resource for peo-
One feature readers might expect
ple who are just learning to burn
is a CD-ROM containing some of the
their own discs.
software featured in the text. This
The authors are thorough in their
lack was initially disappointing to
coverage of the subject; this includes
the hardware and software required me, but I think their solution is a
and that they have taken the se- good one. Rather than adding a CD
to burn discs as well as sources for
quence of undergraduate physics of outdated software to raise the
audio content. Unlike other instruc-
courses that satisfy engineering ac- price of the book, the authors point
tion books on this topic, they discuss
creditation criteria’’ (p. ix). He also the reader to the book’s Web site
computer-specific hardware (CD-
urges that ‘‘laboratory experience be (www.peachpit.com/littleaudio/),
recorder drives, hard drive require-
included in the course (or courses) in which has links to a site where the
ments, and sound cards) and
which this text is being used’’ (pp. software can be downloaded.
non-computer hardware (cassette
ix–x). Although the latter require- The book is clearly for people with
players, phonograph styli, preamplifi-
ment is usually given for recording little to very little knowledge of the
ers, and standalone CD recorders).
arts curricula, the former require- technology and processes involved in
Since a primary focus of the book is
ment might not always be met by burning a CD, and the authors give
helping people transfer their LP and
many curricula with the main focus an excellent overview of many of the
cassette collections to compact disc,
on music. Nevertheless, because of issues involved. The first chapter ex-
these non-computer hardware com-
the necessity of setting higher stan- plains the differences between digital
ponents are important to consider.
dards for music courses and because and analog, the differences among
They also try to address both
of a more interdisciplinary orienta- colored discs, what the ‘‘X’’ means in
Windows-based (PC) and Macintosh
tion in today’s music curricula, the ‘‘4X,’’ and how the ‘‘X’’ speed trans-
platforms, with preference for the
reviewer can only wish that this lates into real time. Although some
PC.
textbook would also find its way to would argue that people do not need
There are two negative aspects to
music-oriented acoustics courses, to to know these things in order to
this book. First, it suffers from the
be used in addition to one that is make their own CDs, these are is-
same problem that plagues the vast
more specifically oriented toward sues which can lead to confusion and
majority of technology books in that
musical acoustics. are often misrepresented. The clarifi-
much of the information is already
becoming outdated. Despite this, cations are useful.
though, the basic content of the The second chapter discusses
book remains quite reliable and use- where to find music on the Internet.
Bob Starrett and Josh McDaniel: ful. The second problem is the for- This, of course, raises the issue of le-
The Little Audio CD Book mal structure of the publication, gal and illegal downloads. At the
which seems somewhat scattered. In time of writing the courts had not
Softcover, 2000, ISBN 0-201-70897-3, their efforts to completely cover the yet ruled in the Napster case; the au-
271 pages, illustrated, appendices, subject they have chosen a good thors make a point to mention that
glossary, index; Peachpit Press, 1249 macro-level organizational scheme, whereas Napster (and other programs
Eighth Street, Berkeley, California but within that scheme they are like it) enables users to illegally
94710, USA; telephone (Ⳮ1) 800-283- prone to digressions which can be download music, they believe there
Recordings 95
component feels appropriate. Satisfy- gestures of the performer and poten- timbres. The pulses disappear and
ing successions such as this one are tially only distantly related sonic re- the piece ends in a virtual standstill
the piece’s strongest attribute. Al- sults. Complicating this is the fact on a lovely, if somewhat old-
though it is possible to discern an that we are listening to the piece in fashioned, shiny timbre that is simi-
overall shape of sorts, with specific pure audio form on CD. With more lar to the opening sonority without
gestures and phrases returning later traditional recorded works, we can the internal rhythm. The standard
on in the piece, Entropy seems to imagine the physical gestures of the instrumental timbres present in the
work best when one focuses on the performers from the perceived sound, piece could be more closely con-
local changes on the level of the two- but here there is nothing in the nected to the live performer than is
or three-minute section, letting the sound that allows us to mentally described here, but it is difficult to
work flow by with a general appreci- generate the performer’s gestures. tell from the CD alone. Despite their
ation of the return of materials. This You can’t play air guitar to Unnatu- inherent allusion to an unrelated in-
is true of many works whose rhyth- ral Selection! While this is not an in- strumental world, these instrumen-
mic or harmonic grammar is deter- herent flaw, it does highlight the tal timbres don’t particularly offend,
mined probabilistically. This is not a cognitive complications of this art with the possible exception of the
bad thing, but it does prohibit the form. Although program notes are of- drum machine. At this point in time,
kind of motivic listening that one ten derided (‘‘if you have to explain it is very difficult to hear canned
usually engages in when experienc- the piece, then . . .’’), they are essen- drum sounds as solid sonic citizens
ing a work that sets out specific mo- tial in interactive computer music to of a piece like this. It might have
tivic or harmonic relations whose give the listener a framework within been less jarring to hear percussive
manipulation and transformation be- which to appreciate the behavior of sounds that aren’t quite so imitative.
come the business of the piece. computer and human performers. The piece has a clear overall high-
The second and fourth tracks are Unnatural Selection begins with low-high registral shape that unfolds
two versions of the same work, Un- high-register shimmering sounds at a leisurely pace despite the rapid
natural Selection, with the second that are articulated by diffuse me- surface activity. As with Entropy,
being approximately half as long as lodic and rhythmic characteristics. the various sections of the piece
the first. The separation of these two In fact, it’s initially quite difficult to don’t provide much local motivic
versions by an intervening work is a distinguish between rhythm and tim- material, just general statistical be-
smart programming move as it forces bre. These sounds develop into a havior. And again, this works quite
the linear listener to hear the second marimba-like timbre that is articu- well if one is prepared to listen in
version with fresh ears—this despite lated by an irregularly accented, fast that way.
the fact that the intervening work is underlying pulse. As the register The second version of Unnatural
anything but a sonic sorbet! drifts down to the lower middle Selection gives a more readily cogni-
The first version of Unnatural Se- range, piano and drum machine tim- zable situation where an improvisa-
lection features the composer play- bres are added and the harmonic ma- tion by Daniel Koppelman on a MIDI
ing a MIDI guitar providing terial becomes more traditional. piano provides the data for the ge-
information to a genetic algorithm When the saxophone and bass netic algorithm. This version has a
which in turn improvises the sounds are added one can, for a mo- similar overall shape and succession
computer-controlled response. The ment, imagine the gestures per- of timbres but is compressed into
most interesting part of this perfor- formed on the guitar which might about half the time. The pianist’s
mance model is that the direct out- produce such sonic output. A ‘‘drum free improvisation frequently has a
put of the MIDI guitar is not heard, solo’’ is followed by the addition of jazzy flavor giving this version of the
only the computer’s response to the bell-like tones and less traditional work a different sort of feel and
generated data. Where pieces for harmonic material with a continued rhythmic energy. The performer also
loudspeaker performance break the fast and irregularly accented pulse. provides the kind of localized mo-
traditional relation between physical The register of the piece again moves tivic material that is avoided in pre-
gesture and perceived sound by re- upward, and the fast pulse that has vious pieces on this CD. This is a
moving the physical gesture of the been with us since the first few min- nice contrast to the unheard MIDI
performer from the stage, this ver- utes of the piece dissolves into guitar version, reinforcing the value
sion of Unnatural Selection in con- ‘‘quarter-note’’ pulses articulating vi- of including two versions of the
cert would present the physical braphone notes in a sea of glassy same piece. The saxophone and
Recordings 97
nation Network and serves as editor ing to some that the composer of diverse musical genres, it should
of the journal 1/1. acknowledges this phenomenon in come as no surprise that they are the
This compact disc release show- titles of these compositions. (Mr. common elements among the four
cases some beautiful music by a Doty writes, for example, that in individual pieces on this disc. David
skilled composer. With that said, I Fake Greek Music ‘‘[a] group of re- Mahler’s Hearing Voices uses lan-
cannot help but think of this disc as bettika musicians from the opium guage and voice as basic elements
a kind of ‘‘test run’’ for a formal real- dens of 1930s Piraeus somehow get out of which to forge entirely new
ization of the pieces. Have you ever mixed up with a 1960s Los Angeles sonic and textual worlds. It is a tour
heard someone say, ‘‘That sounds garage band.’’) Or maybe it’s just de force of digital editing tech-
like MIDI’’—as if the Musical Instru- supposed to be cute. I’m not certain niques—often in micro-detail—by an
ment Digital Interface were a type of of the overriding aesthetic intention, unsung master of analog tape music.
‘‘sound’’ and not a communications and perhaps that explains why these All four of the pieces included, The
protocol? Well, unfortunately, this two pieces seem the least successful. Priest From Cape Breton, A Chorale
CD does indeed ‘‘sound like MIDI.’’ The highlight of the disc for me is That Ludvig Lindeman Wrote, Wag-
The compositions are interesting, the 15-min composition entitled nerian Opera, and Who I Just
but it is impossible to forget that Contrapunctus 1.01. The samples of Adored, take recordings of voices
they’re performed primarily on Ya- various Moeck recorders are actually from interviews with the composer
maha FM synthesizers and an Alesis quite stunning and effectively used. and shape, sculpt, and cajole the
drum machine (and a sampler, to be The composition wanders around voices into sonic flights of fancy.
fair). The grid of metric quantization three-, five-, and seven-limit lattices, Each of the pieces takes the voice of
and robotic rubato also too often rear and the movement among them is at a single artist as the raw material
their ugly heads. first quite striking, but with repeat- from which the composer creates a
As a fan of Mr. Doty’s book and ing listenings sounds very natural. sort of homage to him or her, evok-
someone who writes for instruments Other compositions on the disc in- ing some element(s) that he finds sig-
in extended just intonation, I was clude Dithyramb, Paradigms Lost, nificant in their work. While the
greatly looking forward to hearing Rituals and Ceremonies, and Bodhi- second and third pieces focus on the
this album. The compositions show sattvas in Berkley?—Mu!, a tribute use of language, the first and fourth
great potential and could be abso- to the late just-intonation pioneer explore more intimately the sonic
lutely stunning if played by a live en- Jim Horton (1944–1998). possibilities of the human voice it-
semble—perhaps an early music In some ways, the music repre- self.
ensemble or scordatura string quar- sented on this compact disc sounds Infused with his usual grace and
tet. In Mr. Doty’s defense, the dearth to me like Moondog in just intona- sense of gentle humor, the four
of ensembles willing to retune their tion (and I mean that in a good way). pieces on the disc represent the com-
instruments or adopt alternate play- Perhaps we will be fortunate to hear
ing styles almost necessitates hear- poser’s first foray into digital record-
the compositions performed by live ing media. Like much of his earlier
ing one’s music in the MIDI world— musicians some day.
but not quite. Many just intonation analog tape music, these pieces rely
composers have dropped or avoided more on fine-scale editing and mix-
MIDI instruments to realize their ing procedures than signal process-
David Mahler: Hearing Voices ing. In fact, the only integral use of
music purely in the digital domain,
using software sound synthesis tech- processing is limited to the piece
Compact disc, Tzadik TZ 7064,
niques to correlate timbre and scale Wagnerian Opera, in the form of
2001; available from Tzadik, 61 East
(as suggested by William Sethares), pitch shifting to delineate individual
Eighth Street, P.M.B. 126, New York,
or by forming their own ensembles characters created from a single
New York 10003, USA; electronic
or building their own instruments. voice. In the liner notes, the com-
mail tzadik@tzadik.com; World Wide
Some of the titles of the composi- poser refers to this in terms of his in-
Web www.tzadik.com/
tions suggest an unfortunate naı̈veté: terest in ‘‘letting the digital medium
‘‘Fake Irish Music’’ and ‘‘Fake Greek Reviewed by Steven M. Miller speak in its own voice.’’ While I’m
Music,’’ for example. Is this intended Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA not sure that digital signal processing
to be funny or tongue-in-cheek? In is any less an accurate depiction of
an age of mass cross-cultural appro- Because language and the human the voice of the digital medium than
priation, though, it might be refresh- voice have long inspired composers editing and mixing, it is, in any case,
Recordings 99
de Lorimier, Montreal, Quebec H2H tion of this composition, Mr.
2B5, Canada; telephone (Ⳮ1) 514– Tutschku used real-time granular
526–4096; fax (Ⳮ1) 514–526–4487; synthesis to divide and reorganize
electronic mail info@electrocd.com; the sounds to create new sonic rela-
World Wide Web tionships among the sources.
www.electrocd.com/ Throughout extrémitiés lointaines
the composer is vigilant in maintain-
Reviewed by Patricia Dirks ing connections to the specific cul-
Kitchener, Ontario, Canada tures from which the sound sources
originated. It is this passion and
Hans Tutschku is a German com-
dense compositional structure that
poser born in Weimar in 1966. He
creates the intensity of this fascinat-
has been involved in electronic mu-
ing work. extrémitiés lointaines was
sic and the creation thereof from an
originally composed for eight-
early age. At 16, he joined the En-
channel dispersion and was commis-
semble für Intuitive Musik Weimar
means of the different controllers. I sioned by the French Ministry of
and later accompanied Karlheinz
think this is an interesting part of Stockhausen for three years to study Culture in collaboration with INA-
Mr. Rose’s system because he is very sound diffusion. Moment is a collec- GRM (Institut National de
conscious of the sound of the violin, tion of electroacoustic compositions l’Audiovisuel—Groupe de Re-
and keeps the aural presence of it by Mr. Tutschku. This compact disc cherches Musicales) in Paris. This
throughout these pieces. The titles of features the subtle blending of vocal, work was a finalist in the 1998
the tracks on the CD are engaging instrumental, and environmental Bourges International Electroacoustic
too, including Siren, Broken Bones, sounds to create rich sonic textures. Music Competition in France and
Schoenberg’s Bow, Reversed Spam, Although all of the works on Mo- was given the award of Distinction
Whipped Cream, and Spaghetti Ma- ment were created to some extent at the 1998 Prix Ars Electronica
chine. through computer programming, ma- competition in Austria.
Mr. Rose’s compositions on this nipulation of recorded material, and Most of the compositions on Mo-
disc show his virtuosic technique us- digital signal processing, it is Mr. ment feature the human voice in one
ing his violin and performance sys- Tutschku’s precise craftsmanship in form or another. Mr. Tutschku’s
tem. With long, droning textures and compositional techniques that al- . . . erinnerung. . . (. . . menmento . . .)
varied ostinati, he moves through lows the listener to hear only the (1996) is no exception, as unique ges-
many ethnic styles. These range voice of the music he has created tures of the human voice are used to
from the whistling sound of a Bul- and not the technology. It is both his create richly colorful and sometimes
garian kaval to the shimmering ease of knowledge and skill that al- quite dense textures. The piece is
strings of the Indian sitar to the poly- lows his passion and personality to based on the poem ‘‘. . .
rhythmic dance styles of the British be present in his compositions. His erinnerung . . .’’ by Antonio Bueno
Isles. The compositions seem like accomplishments have been ac- Tubis. This collection of words pro-
large broken machines which rotate knowledged worldwide with numer- vides the starting point for the trans-
and move in unpredictable and inter- ous awards and honors for his works. formation of the human voice later
esting ways—washing machines, Since 1997, Mr. Tutschku has held a interspersed with bells and tam-
electric hand drills, industrial-sized teaching position at IRCAM (Institut tams. The intensity created by the
food mixers—all controlled by Mr. de Recherche et Coordination Acous- juxtaposition of these sound worlds
Rose’s subtle movements and skilled tique/Musique). is then interrupted by the clearly
performance style. In the composition extrémitiés spoken text: ‘‘Yo/ os lo aseguro,/ la
lointaines (1998), the composer takes cárcel existe,/ la recuerdo como un-
the listener on a sonic journey trallazo en la sien’’ (‘‘I/ assure you/
Hans Tutschku: Moment through Asia, Singapore, Indonesia, the prison is there/ I recall it like a
the Philippines, and Thailand. Re- lash to the face’’). In this recording
Compact disc, empreintes DIGITA- cordings of various cities, churches, the poet is also the male voice fea-
Les IMED 9947, 1999; available from temples, and children singing can be tured reading the text of the poem.
DIFFUSION i MéDIA, 4580, avenue heard in this soundscape. In the crea- . . . erinnerung . . . (. . . menmento . . .)
Recordings 101
acoustic instruments played and re- Gold Native Bundle (there is another the general interface are duplicated
corded. Mr. Tutschku created his bundle for Digidesign TDM systems). for each of the five booklets, for ex-
compositions through the use of The new package features resolu- ample—the information is often very
computer programs, his own pro- tions up to 88.2 kHz or 96 kHz sam- useful. There are discussions of basic
gramming, and various other electro- pling rates, with internal processing concepts (the different components
acoustic techniques. It is his vast running at 32 bits. As the ‘‘Native’’ of reverberation, for example) and
talent in this area that enables his part of the name suggests, these specific pointers on using the param-
music to sound natural and free plug-ins do not require any addi- eters within each plug-in to achieve
flowing, rich in emotion and inten- tional hardware to operate. One certain effects.
sity. Unlike some early ‘‘computer’’ should be warned, however, that the The plug-ins are not ‘‘dumbed
music, which sounds very pro- suggested computer requirements are down’’ for instant use by audio en-
grammed, heavily structured, and de- a minimum; the stronger the horse- thusiasts with no knowledge of mu-
void of any human element, Mr. sic or engineering. The Renaissance
power and the greater the RAM, the
Tutschku has elegantly bridged the Reverb, for example, includes set-
better the processors will run. Waves
gap between the music and the me- tings for Reverb Type, Decorrelation
‘‘strongly recommends’’ using a Mac-
(between channels), Reverb Proper-
dium to produce stunning composi- intosh G3 or G4 (with at least the L2
ties Control (Predelay, Time, Size,
tions of exceptional caliber. backside cache), with 96 MB RAM Diffusion, Decay), Reverb Levels
for multitrack operation. On the PC Controls (Early Reflections, Reverb,
side, a Pentium 266 MHz with 96 Wet/Dry, Gain), Damping Controls
MB RAM is recommended. The plug- (Low Frequency, Low Frequency Ra-
ins are compatible with AudioSuite tio, High Frequency, High Frequency
Products
and Realtime AudioSuite (RTAS) Ratio), EQ Controls (Low Frequency,
programs (Pro Tools), VST (Cubase, Low Gain, High Frequency, High
etc.), MAS (Digital Performer), and Gain), and Graph Displays. Whoa!
DirectX (for Windows). Thankfully, all of the plug-ins have a
Waves Gold Native Bundle Waves Gold includes various healthy collection of pre-sets, which
Version 3.0 equalizers, limiters, and compres- can be useful starting points for ex-
sors, often packaged together to form ploring the possibilities of particular
Waves, 306 West Depot Avenue, composite plug-ins. New to the set is processors along with the manuals.
Suite 100, Knoxville, Tennessee the C4 Multiband Parametric Proces- Each plug-in allows two settings to
37917, USA; telephone (Ⳮ1) 865– sor, ‘‘with 4-band up and down ex- be loaded for A–B comparison, and
546–6115; fax (Ⳮ1) 865–546–8445; pansion, limiting, compression, plus users may easily store their own set-
electronic mail sales@waves.com; dynamic and standard EQ.’’ The bun- tings for later recall or duplication.
World Wide Web www.waves.com dle also includes plug-ins for rever- The graphic interfaces that are sup-
beration, including the new plied with most plug-ins also help
Renaissance Reverb, along with ‘‘ef- users to orient themselves to the par-
Reviewed by Juniana Grimm, Lon
fects’’-type processors such as ticular features of a plug-in (see Fig-
Schnittgrund, and James Harley
Enigma (a type of phaser), Meta- ure 1).
Moorhead, Minnesota, USA
Flanger, SuperTap (delay), Doppler, We ran the Waves Gold bundle on
a 400 MHz G4 with 256 Mb RAM,
Waves has long been a leader in de- and MaxxBass. Waves has also added
operating within the environment of
veloping signal processors (com- the S1 Stereo Imager, the L1 Ultra-
Pro Tools 5.1 LE. Installation is
monly called plug-ins) for audio maximizer (for dithering), and the
straightforward, the new version
editing software. The company has PAZ Psychoacoustic Analyzer. Space simplifying the process by substitut-
also made excursions into hardware, prevents us from discussing every ing call-and-response verification for
including the L1 Limiter, which en- one of these tools, but a selection of awkward dongles. In order to proceed
ables the processing to be offloaded them will be reported on in more de- with user verification, it is necessary
from the computer’s CPU. Over the tail. to register. This can be done through
years, Waves has developed an im- Waves Gold comes with a substan- the Waves Web site, or by mail or
pressive collection of plug-ins, and tial set of printed manuals. While telephone. In any case, the full bun-
upgraded versions of most of them there are redundancies—the installa- dle is functional as a demo for 14
are included in the new Version 3.0 tion instructions and description of days.
Products 103
bits at its output. Waves has tried to
create phase-compensated crossovers
to achieve flat frequency response at
nominal levels. It is very difficult to
hear any distortion at the crossover
points, even when the neighboring
regions are processed quite differ-
ently. This is one more plug-in that
eats up the processing power,
though, so its use should be judi-
cious.
Each band in the C4 has indepen-
dent settings for Threshold, Gain,
Range, Attack, and Release. In order
to check your audio, you can solo or
bypass particular regions, a utility
we found very useful. Another valu-
able feature is the Master controls,
so that overall thresholds, for exam-
ple, can be adjusted with one con-
trol, preserving the differences
between the four bands. The Master
Release control enables different
modes to be set, including the Auto-
Release Control (ARC), which is a
proprietary look-ahead algorithm for
optimizing release times for different
tion of processors that combine ele- just concentrating on toning down types of material (faster- or slower-
ments of compression, limiting, or high frequencies. The Q10 Para- decaying transients). The Behavior
equalizing. The L1 Limiter is a basic graphic EQ units provide up to 10 control switches between Opto
single-purpose unit—although the bands of equalizing capability (the (modeling opto-coupled compressors
ⳭL1 Ultramaximizer adds the pro- Q4 is a scaled-down version of the that use light-sensitive resistors),
prietary IDR dithering and noise- same thing), with the center frequen- which has the characteristic of oper-
shaping tools—and it does a great job cies, bandwidth/slope (Q), and gain ating more slowly as the level re-
of maximizing your bits (using the able to be adjusted either graphically turns to zero, and Electro, which is
Ultra noise-shaping setting, in fact, or using the numerical buttons. The the opposite, so that the compressor
enhances the high frequency compo- Renaissance Equalizer and Compres- responds more quickly as the level
nents to such an extent that our files sor aim at ‘‘vintage’’ sound quality, returns to zero (and which, by exten-
crackled mightily when played back so are different in degree rather than sion, has slower response times at
in another editor after processing). type. higher levels). It takes some experi-
The C1 Parametric Compander is The new addition to the bundle is mentation to decide which of these
more sophisticated in adding dy- the C4 Multiband Parametric Proces- settings works best; the difference is
namic release functions (shorter re- sor (see Figure 2). This plug-in pro- noticeable, certainly. The Knee Con-
lease times for fast transients, etc.) vides four bands of adjustable trol affects the ‘‘edges’’ of the com-
and a gate. There is also a look-ahead compression/expansion, making it pression/EQ bands. Finally, the
filtering function which enables spe- possible to adjust the spectral bal- Output Control enables the audio to
cific frequency regions to be selected ance of the audio with a fair degree be boosted overall, if that is what is
for processing rather than the whole of finesse, and is obviously of great desired, or reined in. If you are want-
signal. The DeEsser plug-in dupli- benefit as a mastering tool. The C4 ing to boost the low end, for exam-
cates what could be done with the runs at 48-bit double-precision reso- ple, the overall output may need to
C1, but the interface is simpler, for lution, automatically dithering to 24 be brought down slightly to compen-
Products 105
harmonics above it. This processor
injects energy into the harmonics in
the region above a defined bass re-
gion. If you boost these harmonics
and lower the level of the bass re-
gion, the low frequencies will come
through even on sound systems that
lack a strong low end. We found that
MaxxBass calls for careful adjust-
ment, and it is critical to listen to
the audio over the loudspeakers (or
comparable) for which the sounds are
intended.
We did not work too intensively
with the UltraPitch plug-in, which is
designed for pitch-shifting and har-
monizing melodic tracks. This is one
of the more complex processors of
the bundle, with tools for pitch de-
tection, formant shifting, time
stretching, multiplying voices, and
so forth. The MetaFlanger and
Enigma plug-ins are flexible tools for
creating phasing-type effects, with a
whole range of tools for controlling
the processing.
Conclusion
With a list price of US$ 1,299, the
Waves Gold bundle is not inexpen-
sive. It is, however, an extremely
with the Doppler plug-in. Its basic adjusting the centering of the entire powerful collection of signal proces-
aim, according to the manual, is ‘‘to stereo image. Input mode can be sors. For the budget-conscious,
readjust the stereo level-balance of a switched between Left–Right (LR) Waves has packaged slimmer bun-
mix.’’ The controls include Width, and Mid–Side (MS) for concentrating dles (the Renaissance set, for exam-
which can widen (or narrow) the on specific imaging effects (or for ple, which includes its Equalizer,
stereo image, even beyond the range converting audio recorded using an Compressor, and Reverb plug-ins),
of the loudspeakers (not overly con- MS microphone set-up to LR). This and some of the releases are avail-
vincing to our ears, although the pro- utility includes polarity switches, a able individually. The orientation of
cessor does not introduce phasing useful tool for checking phasing is- the plug-ins is toward the audio engi-
effects, at least). The Shuffle works sues. neer rather than the composer (in
in conjunction with the Frequency MaxxBass is an interesting plug-in contrast to, for example, GRM
control to widen the lower range in that works off of the psychoacoustic Tools), but these processors contain
reference to the higher frequencies. phenomenon of ‘‘missing fundamen- enough detailed parametrical con-
The other controls include Asymme- tal,’’ whereby the sound of the fun- trols (and automation) that creative
try, to adjust the relative level of left damental is created in our ears on applications are quite feasible, and
and right sounds, and Rotation, for the basis of strong presence of the even inviting.